Author Interview: Jenny Hubbard of PAPER COVERS ROCK

(Updated with new pics at the bottom!)

Jenny Hubbard

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

JENNY HUBBARD

We loved meeting Jenny Hubbard when she visited the Main library—almost as we enjoyed Paper Covers Rock, her beautiful debut novel that has won numberous national awards and an endorsement from mega-author Pat Conroy. Luckily, she answer a few questions for those who didn't get to meet her:



Paper Covers Rock is your first novel. How did you come up with the idea for it?

If you want to get technical about it, it’s my third novel. The first two are in a drawer in a folder marked, “Burn in the event of my death.” But, yes, it is my first published novel. The germ of Paper Covers Rock began with a terrible true story I heard while I was teaching at a boys’ boarding school, one that had nothing to do with boys or schools. That terrible true story is no longer a part of the novel. Funny how that happens. I taught at the boys’ school for 10 years, and when I started there, I was the only single female teacher. I taught poetry, and I read the sometimes great and terrifying work of my students day in and day out. Although my story is not at all Miss Dovecott’s, I can relate to and empathize with her plight.

South Carolina Junior Book Awards

Awesome Books for Middle Schoolers!!

The 2012-2013 South Carolina Junior Book Award nominees are in! Check out the results. They include dangerous underwater worlds, kids forced to work in sweatshops, and a talking origami Yoda. Yes, there is a book (or two or three) for all tastes. Click on any title to reserve a copy!

Start off with:



The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
By Tom Angleberger

When Dwight, the class weirdo, shows up with a talking origami Yoda, kids tease him. But Yoda seems to know things—and his advice is oddly wise. Is the Force really with him, or has Dwight fallen off the deep end?

Sequel: Darth Paper Strikes Back

S.C. Young Adult Book Award

FALL FOR GREAT BOOKS!

From bloody wars and school violence to bullies and cults, there's something for every teen among the South Carolina Young Adult Book Award nominees for 2011-2012. (If you've read any of the books, leave your opinions in the comments section below!) Then, check out some new titles:


Before I Fall
By Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston has worked her way up the popularity ladder. Now a senior, she and her friends rule their school. But after she dies in a car crash, Samantha finds herself reliving the day of her death over and over and over again. 





Angry Management
By Chris Crutcher

Chris Crutcher fanatics rejoice! Your favorite characters are back. Mr. Nak from Ironman is holding Angry Management classes with other characters from the Crutcher archives. After a brief intro, each of the three stand-alone stories is preceded by Mr. Nak's file notes on the teen subjects.

South Carolina Junior Book Awards

Updated with Goliath, new Skeleton Creek books!

What Should I Read Now?

From silly humor to chilling war stories, check out these South Carolina Junior Book Award nominees for 2011-2012. (They're great for middle schoolers --and might appear on your school summer reading lists!) Last year's nominees included The Hunger Games. Which of this new batch will be the next Big Thing?





Anything But Typical
By Nora Raleigh Baskin

What is it like to be an autistic boy facing daily sixth-grade life, not to mention lifelong struggles, in a "neurotypical" world? Jason Blake is most comfortable in an online writing forum called Storyboard, where his stories spark an email friendship with a girl. But what would happen if he had to meet her in real life?

Great Books For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. today, we look to the newly released 2011 Coretta Scott King Book Awards, which honor fantastic African-American authors. One of our favorite writers, Walter Dean Myers, made this year's honor list with:

Lockdown



It seems like the only progress you make at Progress juvenile facility is moving from juvy jail to real jail. Sure, Reese wants out early. But is he supposed to just sit back and let his friend Toon get jumped? Reese gets a second chance when he's picked for the work program at a senior citizens' home. He doesn't mean to keep messing up, but it's not so easy -- at Progress or in life. One of the residents, Mr. Hooft, gives him a particularly hard time. If Reese can convince Mr. Hooft that he's a decent person, not a criminal, maybe he'll be able to convince himself, too.

Walter Dean Myers books often portray urban teenagers struggling with real life -- especially drug use, violence, and peer pressure. They're trying to find ways out of the problems they were born into. From his own real life, Myers understands what his characters are going through. He was raised in Harlem by foster parents and dropped out of high school. He also had a severe speech impediment -- so, he began to write as a way to express himself. Try it yourself. Writing is a great way to vent, to celebrate, or to just work through complicated stuff in your life.

We wouldn't even know where to start telling you about all of  Myers' other great books. For starters, check out these:



Dope Sick 

The Cruisers



 Fallen Angels

Sunrise
Over
Fallujah

Monster   



Street Love





Now, for all you graphic novel fans....

Yummy: The Last Days
of a Southside Shorty

Check out another Coretta Scott King honor book, Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri and and Randy Duburke. In this book, 11-year-old Roger is trying to make sense of his classmate Robert "Yummy" Sandifer's death. But first he has to make sense of Yummy's life.

Was Yummy a monster who'd just killed a little girl? Or, was he just another kid? As Roger digs, he finds more questions. Did Yummy really kill someone? And why do so many answers lead to the gang Roger's older brother belongs to?

This gritty depiction, based on a real murder in Chicago, might make you question your ideas about good and bad, right and wrong.

 

Remember to click on book titles to reserve them at your favorite library branch.



"Almost Perfect" Tops 2011 Stonewall Book Awards

The Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Awards are given to books relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experiences. This year's list includes lots of amazing books (click on any title to check it out of your favorite Charleston County Public Library).

The top winner is:

Almost Perfect

By Brian Katcher

Sage Hendricks is the new girl at Logan Witherspoon’s small-town school. Tall, unconventionally pretty, and a bit awkward, she appeals to Logan even at a time when he trusts no one. He's drawn to her intelligence and humor. But Sage’s life is a mystery -- until she reveals that she was born a boy. Outraged, Logan questions his own sexuality and cuts ties with his friend just when she needs him most. Can Logan accept and love Sage for who she is?

Author Brian Katcher also wrote Playing with Matches, about a high school junior who befriends a lonely, disfigured female classmate.

And the four Stonewall Honor books are....

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

By John Green and David Levithan 

When two teens, one gay and one straight, meet accidentally and discover that they share the same name, their lives become intertwined as one begins dating the other's best friend, who produces a play revealing his relationship with them both.

Freaks and Revelations

By Davida Wills Hurwin

This raw, moving novel follows two teenagers -- one, a Mohawk-wearing 17-year-old violent misfit; the other, a gay 13-year-old cast out by his family -- hustling on the streets and trying to survive. This narrative is told in the alternating perspectives of their lives before and after the violent hate crime that changed both their futures. This tragic but ultimately inspirational journey of two polarized teens, their violent first meeting, and their peaceful reunion years later is an unforgettable story of survival and forgiveness.

The Boy in the Dress

By David Walliams

Dennis is a bit surprised -- but not terribly upset -- to discover that he enjoys wearing dresses. The 12-year-old does, however, realize this is not the kind of revelation he wants to share with his truck-driving dad, his older brother or his friends on the school football team, where he is a star player. But these things have a way of getting out, and Dennis finds himself both exposed and expelled. Is this the end?

Love Drugged
Love Drugged

By James Klise

Terrified that his classmates will discover he's gay, high-school freshman Jamie decides his best cover is to start dating a girl. Even better, the beautiful and wealthy Celia expresses an interest in him. However, it evolves into a sexual interest that Jamie cannot reciprocate. But wait: Celia’s father is a doctor who develops behavior-modification drugs and is experimenting with one that will “cure” homosexuality. Should Jamie risk taking it?

Click on any titles to reserve them at your favorite Charleston County Public Library branch!

The Best in Teen Fiction is Announced!

2011 Printz Winner 

The Michael L. Printz Awards are in! These are the biggies in young adult literature, so if you want to know what's hot, check out the top winner and the runner-ups. This year's awards are heavy on dark, haunting stories that will make you think. Click on the titles to get them free from your Charleston County Public Library.

The top award goes to (drumroll):

Ship Breaker 

By Paolo Bacigalupi

Near a drowned New Orleans that's been ravaged by hurricanes and global warming, teen-aged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living. But when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he must decide whether to strip the ship of its wealth -- or rescue the girl. We've heard this futuristic thriller called the next Maze Runner and couldn't agree more! It will grip and you and not let you go.

Now, for the runner-ups:

2011 Printz Honor Books

Stolen

By Lucy Christopher

The rugged Australian outback becomes Gemma’s prison after she is drugged and abducted by a handsome, obsessed stranger in a novel filled with searing imagery and archetypal characters. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops…but is it real love, or Stockholm Syndrome?

Please Ignore Vera Dietz 

By A.S. King

At 18, Vera has spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie. Over the years, she's kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything. So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone. Will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?

Author A.S. King also wrote The Dust of 100 Dogs in which a 17th Century pirate is cursed to live the lives of 100 dogs.

Revolver

By Marcus Sedgwick

In this grim, chilling story set in the Arctic Circle, Sig finds his father’s frozen corpse as human predator Wolff arrives seeking retribution and a hidden Gold Rush treasure. 

Author Marcus Sedgwick has written lots of other haunting books like The Book of Dead Days, My Swordhand is Singing, and The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural.

Nothing

By Janne Teller

Pierre Anthon’s nihilism causes his classmates to begin a search for life’s meaning in this bold, unsettling parable translated from Danish. 

Author Janne Teller has a fascinating story of her own: Educated as a macro economist, she's lived and worked with humanitarian and conflict resolution issues in Tanzania, Mozambique and Bangladesh. In 1995, she left her career with the United Nations to concentrate on her literature. We bet she has tons of amazing stories to tell.

Remember to click on any title to check these books out from your Charleston County Public Library!